PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E N Sassenrath

Publications and source records attributed to E N Sassenrath.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Differences between Saimiri sciureus and Callicebus moloch in physiological responsiveness: implications for behavior.

The New World primates Callicebus moloch and Saimiri sciureus differ markedly in life modes. Physiological responsiveness (heart rate, cortisol) of these related taxa was compared in two situations that differed in the presumed degree of stress imposed, exposure to a novel environment and physical restraint. In both situations, Saimiri exhibited higher initial levels of heart rate and corticosteroids. In addition, the species differed in their patterns of response to both situations. Saimiri maintained initial heart rate levels across a 1-hour exposure period, whereas Callicebus showed a marked and continuous decline in heart rate. Adrenocortical activity increased in both species in response to test situations, but the elevations in plasma corticosteroids were substantially greater for Saimiri than for Callicebus. The results indicate that the species differ with respect to organization of physiological regulatory systems in a manner consistent with behavioral contrasts between them.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Psychoendocrine correlates of sociosexual responsivity in older premenopausal primates.

Cycling older premenopausal female bonnet macaques (17 to 18 years) show decreased attractivity (mounting indices) and responsivity to males in short-term pair-testing compared to younger, fully mature cycling females (9 to 13 years). Comparison of age-group mean circulating levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone during four phases of the menstrual cycle shows a significant decrement in older females only in the height of the estrogen surge during the periovulatory (estrous) phase of the cycle. Supplementation of older females with an estradiol + testosterone preparation (Deladumone, Squibb) did not restore behavioral sexual interaction to the level of younger females. The data suggest a gradual decline in sexual responsivity or arousal in older females which precedes the major endocrine changes of menopause. Such a lowering of responsivity appears comparable to that observed in aging (albeit sexually functional) human males.

Aging↗
PubMed1982

Sociosexual and hormonal changes in aging female bonnet macaques.

A comparison of younger mature and older perimenopausal female bonnet macaques showed differences in sexual interaction with males. Older females evoked significantly fewer copulations than did younger females. Although older females were cycling regularly, the midcycle (estrus) peaking of sexual interaction and levels of plasma estradiol were less pronounced in older than in younger females. Younger females were mounted more during estrus than during the luteal phase of their cycles, and the frequency of ejaculations and duration of intromissions were significantly greater during estrus. These cycle-phase differences were not observed with older females. The results suggest that aging in the female macaque is associated with reduction in sexual attractiveness to males. The possibility that changes in female proceptivity and receptivity contribute to this effect remains to be investigated.

Aging↗
PubMed1981

Regulation of visual attention in offspring of female monkeys treated chronically with delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Visual attention was studied in a group of rhesus monkey infants whose mothers received daily oral treatment with low levels of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, 2,4 mg/kg/day) prior to and during pregnancy and throughout lactation (3.5 postnatal months). Attention was measured at 1 and 2 years of age in a standardized test situation in which animals looked at projected slides. In comparison with controls (offspring of untreated mothers), THC offspring directed more attention at slides on the 1st trial of a session. The THC offspring also engaged in relatively longer individual periods of attention on the 1st vs 2nd trials of the session and during the 1st vs 2nd session in which a given slide was presented. Further experiments varying novelty and complexity of visual stimuli suggested that changes in visual attention of THC offspring can be characterized as a failure to limit the response to novel stimuli.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Job stress and health in working women.

A questionnaire assessing subjective level of job stress and physical health over the past two years was completed by 173 women in university (non-faculty) positions. Health was divided into two categories: menstrual dysfunction and other non-menstrual symptoms. Two samples, matched for age, were selected: women in high-paying positions (N = 72) and women in low-paying positions (N = 101). Respondents also answered a Recent Life Changes Questionnaire (RLCQ) and an eight-item life satisfaction list. The hypothesis of a positive relationship between job stress and menstrual dysfunction was rejected. The predicted relationship held for non-menstrual symptoms. Subjective stress, RLCQ score, and life satisfaction accounted for 21% of the variance in non-menstrual symptoms. Thus, while both RLCQ and subjective job stress were related to symptom reports, their contributions were independent of one another. The female reproductive system does not seem particularly vulnerable to the levels of stress experienced in professional, managerial, and clerical occupations.

Employment↗
PubMed1981

Mother-infant interaction in rhesus monkeys treated clinically with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Behavior was studied in 15 rhesus monkeys mother-infant pairs, 5 of whom were exposed to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol continuously throughout gestation and the nursing period via drug treatment of mother (2.4 mg/kg/day). The drug-exposed mother-infant pairs were similar to nontreated controls in the amount and types displayed at 10 and 90 days of age, and adequate maternal care was demonstrated by all mothers. Drug-exposed pairs, however, showed no increase in interaction patterns that signal the onset of mother-infant independence at about 3 months of age. This finding suggests that mother-infant attachment may be a behavioral system that is particularly sensitive to modification by perinatal exposure to psychoactive drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Persistent adrenocortical activation in female rhesus monkeys after new breeding groups formation.

Persistent elevated adrenocortical responsiveness to ACTH has been demonstrated in female rhesus monkeys as long as 13 weeks after relocation into new single male breeding groups. Measures of immediate responses to psychosocial stress of grouping such as aggressive interaction and circulating plasma cortisol levels were highest immediately after grouping, but tended to decline to lower levels after the first month. In a retrospective comparison of such 'new' breeding groups (less than one year) versus established breeding groups (more than two years), stress-related morbidities such as trauma (wounding) and loose stools were higher for as long as six months after new group formation. The actual and potential adverse effects of regrouping stress on colony health and reproduction are relevant to cost-benefit assessment of such colony management procedures.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1976

Primate social behavior as a method of analysis of drug action: studies with THC in monkeys.

The use of primate social behavior tests systems to characterize alteration of central nervous system (CNS) function by lesioning, telestimulation, and psychoactive drugs is discussed. Current observations of effects of acute and long-term chronic administration of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in group-caged rhesus monkeys are cited to demonstrate the sensitivity and specificity of primate social behavior test systems in characterization of CNS drugs. The time course of drug action proceeds from the acute intoxication stage (sedation, stimulation, decreased social interaction) through behavioral tolerance to the emergence of irritable aggressiveness (which is demonstrated in four different social contexts). The influence of social enviornmental factors and individual differences in social roles on the manifestation of drug effects are discussed. Possible mechanisms of drug action (on biogenic amines and synaptic receptors) compatible with the behavioral data are suggested.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An analysis of altered attention in monkeys exposed to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol during development.

Monkey infants born to mothers treated chronically with 2.4 mg/kg delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) showed an alteration in visual attention characterized by a failure to limit the duration of attention when looking at novel stimuli. Five off-spring of treated mothers were compared to nine controls in a standardized situation in which they could view slides through a small peephole. THC offspring looked longer at slides early in a session and during the first session in which a given slide was seen. The time of appearance of the peak duration in a series of attention episodes also differed between groups. These alterations in visual attention could have an influence on perceptual and cognitive processes.

Animals↗